Chapter 18
Ana PoV
When we arrived at the hospital, Christian was rushed into an OR, Grace with him. I was made to stay behind. Being apart from him was some kind of agony, especially when I didn't know how he was doing. I was directed to a waiting room where Mia, Elliot, and Carrick were already waiting. They each jumped up and pulled me into an embrace.
"The police said you saved his life. That you saved everyone's lives," Carrick said. "Thank you, sweet girl." Elliot and Mia gave me similar words of encouragement. And instead of feeling trapped in their arms, I felt loved.
Soon my parents arrived with Kate and Ethan. We were all wrapped up with each other in one big Grey-Steele embrace.
"I just knew I had to stop him, and that the only way he would stop was to die." At that moment, the adrenaline had receded and my mind cleared. I'd taken a life. A life that didn't deserve to continue, but nonetheless. His blood was on my hands. I looked down and saw that a spray of blood was on my shirt. From when I pulled the arrow out of his neck. "Oh god, what did I do?" I whispered.
If it weren't for the arms encircling me, supporting me, I would have slumped to the floor. "Nurse!" Carrick called out. "She's fainted." I saw a nurse rush into the room before everything went black.
Christian PoV
Where was Ana? I felt it the moment she let go of my hand. I began panicking again, screaming for her, begging for her to come back to me. Why did she let go?
"Christian, sweetheart, you need to calm down," I heard a familiar voice say.
"Mother?" I asked.
"Yes darling, it's me. Can you calm down for me, please?" she asked, soothingly.
"Where's Ana?"
"She's in the waiting room with your father, Mia, and Elliot," she answered. Oh. That made sense. But I needed her here. She was the only thing that kept me calm. I told my mom as much. Being the head of the ER department, she had the authority to do whatever the hell she wanted, pretty much. "Go and see if Ana can be scrubbed up and brought in here," she told someone.
I waited and waited and waited for her to arrive, and she didn't. "Christian, honey, Ana fainted in the waiting room," Mother said.
"What? She needs me! I have to go to her!" I yelled, trying to sit up and get off the damn gurney.
"No Christian, what she needs is for you to let your surgeons work on you so your arm can heal. You're only making it worse, exacerbating the wound and prolonging your recovery period. Ana is fine; she just got overwhelmed with everything. Please lay back and let us work." Apart from Ana, my mother was the only person who could calm me. Her words worked over me like a soothing balm, lulling me into relaxation. Then came the anesthesiologist. I drifted into sweet oblivion thinking of tropical islands, my Ana with a flower in her hair, flowing in the breeze, a bright blue sundress on and bare feet. We romped in the sand and chased each other along the beach. It was heaven.
Ana PoV
When I came to, I was in a hospital bed, an IV stuck in my arm and I was wearing one of those scratchy hospital gowns. "Christian," I moaned.
"He's still in surgery, honey," someone said. I opened my eyes to see my mother standing at the foot of my bed. My dad was in the room too, having just looked up from his newspaper.
"Hi," I murmured. "What happened?"
"Well, you fainted, honey. The doctor said you were overwhelmed by what happened, and surmised that you hadn't eaten or drank anything, so the lack of energy caused you to pass out."
"I threw up after breakfast," I told them. "And then everything happened at work, and I couldn't very well eat while I was trying to kill Hyde. Oh God, I killed Hyde!"
"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," my Dad said as he came over and sat next to me on the bed. "I hoped none of my kids would ever have to know that feeling. Even though it was self-defense. Even though you did it to save many more lives, one never gets over the feeling of taking a life." I leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around me. I sobbed silently into his shoulder while he rocked me back and forth. My Mom appeared on the other side of my bed, stroking my hair softly.
"The doctor wants you to eat this soup as soon as you can," she said pulling a rolling tray over my lap. "It's just chicken noodle soup and some oyster crackers. Eat whatever you can keep down, honey."
I dug into the soup once the aroma hit my nostrils. It smelled divine. I was finished within minutes and a nurse came in and took away the empty tray, handing me a small cup of water and some pills. "What are these?" I asked.
"To help you sleep and for pain," she said.
"I don't want to sleep, and I'm not in any pain," I answered.
"Doctor's orders," she told me.
"What doctor? I want to speak with this doctor." She said she'd go get him and bring him back.
A few minutes later a young doctor with pitch black hair slicked back 1920s style strolled in. "Hello Anastasia. I'm Doctor Vincent. I understand you're reluctant to take your meds?"
"Well, I'm not tired and I don't need to sleep. I'm not in any pain so these painkillers are useless. All that happened was I fainted due to being overwhelmed and having no food in my stomach. It happens. I don't need this IV, nor to be in this hospital bed. I'd like to go back to the waiting room with my family while my boyfriend is going through surgery."
"You should rest, Anastasia," he said placing his hand over my hand, almost gripping my wrist.
"Please let go of me," I whispered, fighting off a panic attack. I still didn't like strangers touching me, especially my wrists. My dad all but threw him out of the room for being inappropriate.
"I'll handle it Ana, just you hold on a few minutes," he promised me. I waited. And during that time, Kate, bless her came in the room with a bag of clothing. "After you fainted, I ran home and got some clean clothes for you. I might have taken a shower, too and nearly scrubbed my body with bleach."
"There's a reason you're my favorite sister," I told her as I hopped off the bed, pulled the IV out of my arm and got dressed. There was a lot of beeping and alarms going off. The nurse came in to see what was going on and saw my IV hanging limply to the floor.
"You haven't been cleared to remove that, Anastasia. You were severely dehydrated."
"Be that as it may, I feel fine now. And I will not be kept here while the love of my life is fighting for his life in the OR," I retorted.
I strolled out of the room, the nurse and one of her colleagues chasing after me. I went back into the waiting room nearest Christian's OR and found his family and Ethan waiting there again. "You've been let out already?" Carrick asked.
"I let myself out," I replied. "No need for them to waste hospital resources on me when I'm perfectly fine. How's Christian?" I asked.
"They've finished surgery. But he hasn't woken up yet. They said that he may never get full use of his arm again. The bullet and all his flailing about afterwards damaged his rotator cuff," Carrick explained. "They said once he wakes up that you can go in and see him first. It's what he would want. Your face to be the first thing he sees." My heart warmed at his words.
"Carrick, I love your son very much," I told him.
"I think you proved that today," he replied. "They said your arrow threw off Hyde's aim just enough. The bullet could have killed him, but instead he'll have a lame shoulder. I think we can consider that a win." He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly.
"Excuse me," I heard a familiar voice say. I turned and saw Chief Reuben standing in the doorway to the waiting room. "Miss Steele, may I have a word with you?" he asked. I knew instantly what he was going to tell me. He had the results of the DNA test. Already. How long was I unconscious for? Didn't those usually take days?
"You have the results," I guessed. He nodded. "And?" He looked down for a moment, frowned and nodded once, solemnly. And I had my answer.
Jack Hyde was Christian's biological father.
I slumped into a chair and put my head in my hands. Christian would not be happy about this. He would be devastated. His self-loathing would sky-rocket. Flynn and I may never get him to come back down. I couldn't tell him; I couldn't not tell him. It was such a mess, and I didn't know what to do.
I rocked back and forth in that chair, crying quietly to myself. The instant I felt someone's hand on my shoulder blade, I stiffened. I knew without knowing who it was, that it was someone I did not want touching me. "He'll be alright, dear," I heard the most horrid voice in the world say.
Elena Lincoln.
I sat up abruptly, shrugged off her hand and glared at her. "What the fuck are you doing here?" I yelled.
"Grace called me. I'm here to make sure you're alright," she answered as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "And Christian of course, too," she added. "I've known him a very long time."
All I could do was snort in reply. She pursed her lips at me.
"Grace tells me that you and Christian are rather serious. Even though you just met," she said. I tried as hard as I could to ignore the wench. "But as your grandmother, I feel I should warn you. Christian has a lot of skeletons in his closet, and I don't think you should go down that path with him, what with your past and all. He could hurt you, Ana." I glared at her again, seeing her affectionate smile. I wanted to tear the smile off her face.
"I guess I can be the one to tell you, since I know him better than his own mother does." She knew very little about Christian, despite her assumptions to the contrary. "Oh, if she knew about the things he likes…. I don't know if you've been to his house, but he has a room that, well, it could be quite scary and dangerous for someone like you. Someone who isn't in the lifestyle."
"Dammit Elena, I already know!" I yelled, cutting her off. "You don't need to put his business out into the street like that. Especially when you're the one who made him that way!" She gasped. "He and I have already told each other everything. I mean e-ve-ry-thing. And on top of that, you don't get to have an opinion. I already told you that I had a wonderful grandmother that you can't hold a candle to; I don't need or want another one. Especially when said grandmother is a pedophile! I was raped and beaten when I was five years old; why on earth would I want a pedophile for a grandma?!"
"A pedophile?" Grace asked, poking her head out from around the corner. I hadn't realized I was talking so loud. "Anastasia, why on earth would you accuse Elena of such a thing?"
"Why don't you ask her?" I hissed. "And Elena, you had better tell the truth, or I promise your fate will be the same as Hyde's." Carrick strode up next to Grace, staring at Elena as if she was a complete stranger, and glancing at me with an odd expression too.
"I… um… I… that is…" she stumbled over her words unable to look any of us in the eye. "When Christian was fifteen… well you remember what he was like. Drinking, getting into fights, failing his classes. He was a mess. I… well I helped him get past his anger at the world, channel it in a more constructive manner."
"Constructive," I scoffed. "You molested a fifteen year old boy, seduced him into having sex with you and beat him for five years. I'd hardly call that constructive."
"Elena?" Grace bit. "Is this true?" All the color drained from Elena's face as she realized what she was about to reveal to her dearest friend.
"No! Of course not!" Elena defended. "I taught him a new way to channel his anger, and he willingly agreed to learn and to be my student. Everything was completely consensual."
"He was fifteen years old, you whore!" I yelled. "Regardless of what his words were, that is legally not consent."
"You know nothing about our lifestyle. How dare you judge me?!" she replied. Oh this wench had a slap coming to her and I couldn't tell if it was going to be me or Grace that delivered it.
"I know plenty, Elena. You'd be surprised. Either way, you're a sexual predator, and you preyed on a young boy who had enough problems as it was. You manipulated him into having sex with you and then you beat the shit out of him for kicks," I seethed.
"Get out," Grace said very quietly. "If I ever see or hear from you again, Elena. So help me god."
Elena spluttered a bit and stumbled a few steps, likely shocked at what just went down, and then left the hospital. I had a feeling she was going to confront me again later, or Christian perhaps. But she knew what I did to Hyde. She was well aware of my capabilities, and that I would do absolutely anything to keep those I love safe.
"How did you know?" Grace asked me.
"Christian told me," I replied. "As I told her, Christian and I have shared everything with each other. It's been a fast but a very deep journey. He first told me it was a family friend, and then when we learned that she was my biological grandmother, he told me exactly who she was to him. He knows it was wrong, Grace. He realized that she manipulated him."
"I always wondered what happened that made his life turn around," she answered. "It was like an overnight change. He suddenly stopped fighting, stopped getting in trouble and did better in school. All because she was… oh god, I can't even think of it.
"What kind of a mother doesn't realize something is going on? I was just so happy that he was doing better, I didn't even think about what the cause of it was. Never in a million years thought that Elena was doing something to him. I knew she hired him to do some work at her house. Work indeed."
"Grace, it isn't your fault. You're a wonderful mother. I was headed in the same direction Christian was, but I had a very loving grandmother who was able to help me see things differently. She helped open me up to my parents, helped me realize they were there to help me that they loved me unconditionally. You did the same for Christian, but he didn't have that outside source to help him like I did.
"Your son and I are cut from the same cloth, and we have many of the same demons. Little by little, I'm helping him get over his in a way that Elena's 'training' never could. You've done so much for him; you saved his life when he was little. He loves you and adores you. I know that much."
"You are the most amazing woman," she told me as she pulled me in for a hug. "You had better marry my son someday. I want to call you my daughter." All I could do was smile at her words.
"I fully plan to, Grace," I agreed.
"Miss Steele?" A nurse called out, poking her head out of Christian's room. "He'll wake soon. And he'll want you," She said, giving me a small smile. The hospital was doing a lot for us today. Not forcing me to go back to my room and the unnecessary meds. I nodded, removed myself from Grace's embrace and strolled into the room.
He looked so pale and hurt. His arm was bandaged up tight, immobilized against his side. I wondered how long his recovery period would be. He'd hate to not be able to use his arm for long. I pulled a chair close and sat by his side, holding the hand of his uninjured arm in both of mine.
A few minutes later, his eyes fluttered open. "Anastasia," he breathed. He hadn't looked at me yet but he knew I was there. I stood up and leaned over him, so he could see me. He smiled his megawatt smile. "You came back for me," he whispered.
"I'll always be here, Christian. I love you so much." I leaned down and pressed my lips to his temple. He angled his face up, puckering his lips at me. I giggled and kissed him fiercely. "Do you have any idea how furious I am with you?" I asked.
"Furious? Why?" he asked, surprised.
"You deliberately went against my orders to get the hell out of that building and put yourself within Jack's gun range. He shot you, Christian. He could have killed you." I stood up and folded my arms over my chest, waiting for his excuse.
"I wanted to give you a better shot of catching him off guard. And I couldn't stand being away from you. I wanted to protect you from him."
"You put yourself in danger; you made me hesitate, Christian. If I'd waited a sliver of a second longer he'd have shot you in the heart and you'd be dead," I told him. "I shot when I did and his trajectory changed enough to hit you in the shoulder."
"You're the one that went running to him," he countered. "You put yourself in danger." Oh for the love of god, we weren't getting anywhere.
"I had the situation under control. He didn't even know I was there. I had a shot and I was about to take it when you walked up. Hell, he didn't even know I was the one that shot him until I walked right up to him and told him as much. You are the one that called out to him, made your presence known, and what happened? He fucking shot you!"
"And you saved my life, baby," he whispered. "I love you Anastasia. I couldn't bear to make you face him alone. I see that I went about it all wrong. All I wanted to do was distract him so you could get a clear shot, Anita was all for the plan. She hated that you made us leave. She's the one that suggested that she pretend to be you."
"I'll be having words with her later," I added. "Christian, if you had died, I don't know what I would have done. We've known each other all of five minutes, but you've changed my life so irrevocably. My family can hug me now. I let your family hug me. That alone makes you the best thing in my life. And there are still more things that make that so."
He picked up my hand and brought it to his lips. "Is everyone here?" he asked.
"Yes, shall I show them in?" He nodded.
I left his side for a moment to call everyone in. Grace and Carrick were the first through the door, wanting a moment with their son alone. He asked for me to stay by his side, so I simply held his hand and sat near him while he spoke with his parents.
After they gushed over his surgery and his recovery and how stupid he was to put himself within range of that deranged bastard, Grace brought up the elephant in the room. "Christian… when you're ready. I want you to talk to me about Elena. I want you to tell me exactly what she did to you."
He looked at me, a look of mistrust on his face. I shook my head. "Don't you dare blame Ana. She confronted Elena and I overheard. Elena admitted it and I need to know what happened."
"Okay Mother. I'll tell you," he said quietly.